Lantern



Feb. 5, 1929. 1,701,182

A. H. HANDLAN LANTERN Filed May 14, 1926 Patented Feb. 5, 1929 UNITED "STATES a 1,701,182 PATENT orrice.

ALEXANDER H. HANDLAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

mnmnn.

.My inventionwrelates particularly to lanterns adapted for use by railroad trainlnen, and more especially to the ventilating dome ofsuchlanterns. i

6 It is to be understood that the invention coniprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

,Fig. I is a side elevation, partly in section, of my improved lantern.

1 Fig. II is a cross sectionalview takenfo-n the line II II in Fig. I. I

The lantern illustrated in thedrawings consists of a wire guard frame A, a base ring B in which the oil font is adapted to be seated, a glassglobe C, a dome D, and the usual bail E (only partly shown). The upper portion of the globe C is held by a plate F which is so mounted as to be capable of a lateral shiftingmotion to accommodate itself to any irregularity in the position of the globe. G is a spring located between the upper part of said plate F and the inside top of the dome Dlby Whichtension is placed on said plate to securely hold said globe in position.

1 designates a wind-deflecting device mounted in the upper central interior portion of the dome D and consisting of two hollow fi'usto-conical members, the inner 2 and the outer 3, respectively. The member 2 is fitted within the member 3 and spaced apart therefrom and secured to said member 3 by suitable connecting bars 4. The memhers 2 and 3 are arranged with the tapered ends extending upwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. I. The dome D is provided with a head 5 against which the outer edge of the member 3 at its largest diameter is adapted 40 to contact to prevent the deflecting device from being pushed up too far and thereby be improperly mounted in said dome. The said dome is also provided with a series of ventilating holes 6 which provide for both ingress of air to support combustion in said lantern and egress of heated air.

lVhen my improved lantern is in service air which enters through the holes 6 in the dome D largely passes on through said dome,

but a suflicient amount is permitted to enter into the globe C to support combustion of the light (which is maintained above the wickholder H in dotted outline in Fig. I). Airinletholes 7 are also provided in the base ring B, as is ordinarily found in this style of lantern.

1926. Serial No. 109,081.

Considerable difliculty has been encountered in providing a lantern for railway service within which there maybe main tained a substantially uniform .flame under the widely diverse conditions encountered. The lantern is sometimes used within near where thereare nodrafts; it is sometimes carried in such a way that it is subjected to very slight drafts; sometimes it is exposed to a breeze of high velocity, owing not only to the movement of the air but to the movement of the train in a directionopposite to that in which the windis blowing; it is also subjected to severe tests in signaling involving rapid changes of angular position with reference to the vertical, iand whencarried on the top of a rapidly moving train may be inclined forward owing to the stooping posture of the user. It has been found in practice that the lanterniwhich will endure the action of a high wind may have its flame smothered when there is noexternalmbvement of air, andagain, unless properlyimade, the light-may be extinguished by thenction of slowly moving air currents, although it will be maintained either in a high wind or when there is no movement of air Whatever. To insure good combustion when the wind is not blowing the dome must be well ventilated to permit the vapors to freely escape. Such ventilation, however, permits air to enter the dome freely when the wind is blowing, and these air currents may either blow out the light or check the out-flow of vapors and thus smother it.

In my improved lantern air currents entering the holes 6 are prevented by the deflecting device 1 from being directed downwardly upon the flame, but striking the outer face of the first of the deflecting members some of said air will be broken up and defl-ected upwardly and thence downwardly along the inner surface of the globe C and thus away from the flame. These downward- 1y directed currents will reach the flame laterally and stimulate combustion and will also tend to force the vapors upwardly at the opposite side of the globe. The deflecting devices, being substantially edgewise to the upward movement of the vapors, present practically no obstacle to their free e ress, even when the draft is not thus stimuIated. Most of the air striking the outer deflecting member 3, after passing downwardly adjacent to the wall ofthe globe, passes out through the peripheral apertures 7, slightly below the bottom of the globe C, substantially unobstructed. Any surplus amount of air that might escape the outer deflector 3 strikes the inner deflector 2, which also cause practically all of said surplus air to move downwardly and outwardly and thereby reach the peripheral apertures 7 without entering directly the central portion of the globe C.

I claim:

1. A lantern having a perforated dome, a globe, a seat for the bottom face of the globe, a globe holder comprisingan annular portion arranged transversely of the lantern, means for maintaining the globe holder in engagement with the globe, an annular housing secured to the dome and enclosing the marginal edge portion of the annular portion of the globe holder, and a plurality of horizontally alined frusto-conical wind defleeting members mounted within the dome and adapted to direct wind entering through the perforations downwardly into the interior of the globe, and outwardly into the space between the annular portion of the globe holder and the enclosing portion of the annular housing.

2. A lantern having a perforated dome, a globe, a seat for the bottom. face of the globe, a globe holder provided with means fornrging it normally in engagement with the globe, said globe holder including an annular portion arranged transversely of the lantern, an annular housing approximately cup-shaped incross section secured to said dome and enclosing the marginal edge portion ofthe an nular portion of the globe holder, said housing being of greater diameter than the globe holder whereby a space is left between the outer marginal edge of the globe holder and the annular housing, and a unitary wind deflecting member mounted within the dome and adapted to divide into two streams air entering through the perforations, and to direct one stream downwardly into the globe and the other stream outwardly in the direction of the space between the annular housing and the marginal edge of the globe holder.

8. A lantern having a perforated dome, a globe, a seat for the bottom face of said globe, a globe holder including an annular portion arranged transversely of the lantern, a housing secured to the dome and enclosing theannular portion of the globe holder, the diameter of the housing being greater than the diameter of the annular portion whereby an opening is provided between the globe holder and the housing, and a unitary wind deflecting member mounted within the dome for dividing into two streams air entering through the perforations, and for directing one stream downwardly into the globe and the other stream outwardly in the direction of the housin In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aflix my signature.

ALEXANDER H. HANDLAN. 

